It IS kinda amazing that we’ve got small M.2 form-factors for PCIe/NVMe SSDs, tons of WiFi chips with PCIe, so lots of random gear with WiFi has PCIe in it. Likewise the SSD connections – they’re great for industrial stuff so Internet Of Things tend to have a lot of small PCIe connections in them for “stuff”.

In fact, I’d go further, the Automotive ADAS system is actually a state-of-the-art CPU with PCIe as the primary way to connect the processor cores to external peripherals on the PCB as well. The ADAS is likely in an advanced FinFET process (invented in this century).

IoT

In fact the obvious choice for the IoT because IoT end products consist of assembled collections of chips on PCB. An MCU on a board using PCIe wih L1 substates connected to other chips on the PCB to provide wireless or other functions. (Sensors may use even lighter weight connections)

PCIe for External connections

In terms of external PCIe, it’s definitely not widespread but we use PCIe to connect our FPGA prototyping boards to a PCIe slot in a desktop PC. It’s convenient and transportable. It allows our HAPS platforms to be taken home and connected to a laptop PC also using a PC Card. Very convenient for debugging in the field.

Mobile Phones

Our PCIe Controllers Product Marketing Manager Gary Ruggles says:

““Who ever thought we would see PCI Express in mobile phones?” I certainly didn’t years ago, but there it is.”

In fact if you look at the Samsung Exynos, Qualcomm Snapdragon, or HiSilicon phone chips, you will see that PCIe is standard and has been standard for years. Again, the L1 substates make it even more compelling. So we see PCIe as the clear choice for mobile phone and table chips.

For me it’s clear, every chip made for every market needs to have PCIe for connectivity inside the box and on PCB, and USB for connectivity outside the box. Every block diagram should have them and most of them do.

Servers, Cloud, and AI

For Servers, Cloud, and Artificial Intelligence, it’s clear systems need PCIe Gen 4 and Gen 5 speed systems to move the lots and lots of data around for all kinds of uses. AI whether implemented in the Cloud or inside a smart vision sensor product, data must be moved quickly, processed, and a decision must be made. Only PCIe with with fat data pipes and fast speeds can enable this both in the server and in the car, truck, or train.

Eric started working on USB in 1995, starting with the world’s first BIOS that supported USB Keyboards and Mice while at Award Software. After a departure into embedded systems software for real-time operating systems, he returned to USB IP cores and software at inSilicon, one of the leading suppliers of USB IP. In 2002, inSilicon was acquired by Synopsys and he’s been here since. He also served as Chairman of the USB On-The-Go Working Group for the USB Implementers Forum from 2004-2006.

Eric received an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University and an M.S. in Engineering from University of California Irvine, and a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Minnesota. and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Civil Engineering in the State of California.